The Importance of Book Reviews to Get Your Book Known

This is a guest post by BookRazor writer Sarah Robinson. Read her bio at the bottom of the page.

Congratulations! You’ve just published your book! Time to celebrate, right? Not yet. In fact, you have to sell as many copies of your book as you can after putting it out for the public to make a decent profit out of writing. But relying solely on your sales pitch by reaching out to people who are likely to buy and read your book, and convincing them that it’s got something other books in the same genre don’t have isn’t enough. Some readers want more concrete proof that your book is worth buying and you’re not just pulling their leg, which is why book reviews play an important role in getting your book known.

The Two Kinds of Book Reviews That Can Get Your Book Known

Two kinds of book reviews can either pull a buyer into the direction of your book or push them away from it.

1. Third party book reviews

Third party book reviews are often considered to be more reliable in getting your book known, and come from a variety of sources such as:

Professional book review publications

Printed periodicals

News outfits

Printed and online magazines

Blogs and other websites that post about books

Podcasts about books

2. Reader book reviews

Reader book reviews, on the other hand, are those that come from individuals who have already read your book and aren’t associated with any third party book review sources.

Most online retail bookstores display reader book reviews as part of your book’s product page as they can help boost its sales.

Most reader book reviews are also generally seen as more authentic and honest as they have a specific personal touch to them.

Why Are Book Reviews Important to Get Your Book Known?

If you’re an author who doesn’t consider book reviews and thinks that your sales talk alone can make people buy your book, you couldn’t be more wrong. Whether from third-party sources or individual readers, what they have to say about your book is important in getting your book known for the following reasons:

Book reviews help booksellers and librarians know how many copies of your book they should stock.

As mentioned above, third party book reviews are often considered to be more reliable in getting your book known. One such third party book review source is professional book review publications whose primary readership is mostly composed of booksellers and librarians who are looking to stock books that would be read by many.

Professional book review publications review books that were submitted to them at least 3 to 4 months before publication.

Pre-publication reviews give booksellers and librarians an idea as to which forthcoming books should they add to their inventory.

Book reviews can make your book gain a more visible presence in the market.

One of the more apparent reasons as to why book reviews are important in getting your book known is that the more reviews – preferably on the positive end, of course – it gets, the higher its chances of being displayed prominently in bookstores.

A book that is more visible compared to the rest of the competition gets sold and bought more easily.

The high visibility of your book translates to higher sales, and more profit not just for the bookstore selling your book but you as well.

Book reviews act as organic marketing for your book.

Word of mouth is often considered as the most effective form of promotion, and a glowing book review of your book can get it recommended by one reader to another.

The typical reader can be trusted to buy and read a book, especially if from a first-time or independent author if they see that others have bought and reviewed it positively before they do.

The more satisfied readers your book would get, the more it will be recommended to other readers who are looking for something new to read.

Book reviews can help cement your overall reputation as an author.

Not only would your book benefit a lot from book reviews, but your status as an author as well.

A book review, especially if it’s a positive one, acts as evidence reassuring anyone who decides to buy your book that what they’ll be getting is a high-quality product worth the purchase.

Most readers place a high amount of trust in third-party book reviews as they are usually more credible, which you would want to have in your book.

You would want your book to be reviewed by a professional book review publication for it to be taken seriously by the reading public.

How Can You Make Book Reviews Work for You?

If you could get nothing but positive reviews for your book, all the better for you to get your book known. But the reality is that not every book review will place your book in a favorable light.

The only thing you could do whenever your book gets its share of negative reviews is to try to make them work for you. Who knows if some people who are genuinely interested in buying and reading your book might get past them and buy your book anyway?

You just have to make sure that any review you’ll get for your book passes fair and truthful judgment as book buyers can be a discerning bunch that’s hard to please sometimes.

Besides, the average book buyer places more weight in an honest book review – even one that isn’t exactly glowing – than one that’s contrived.

Just as important as well is that you should have your book reviewed by those who know what they’re doing, which is why most authors tend to place a lot more importance to third-party book reviews as the stakes are higher for both reviewers and you.

Of course, you shouldn’t just discount reader book reviews either, as long as they aren’t coming from Internet trolls who have nothing better to do with their lives.

Conclusion

Your sales pitch to people who are likely to buy and read your book might be more than persuasive enough, but a book review can be just as important a promotional tool to get your book off of the racks and into a buyer’s hands. Actually getting reviews for your books can sometimes be a challenge; but when you have good quality reviews you will see your book grow to be known by many. Only then, and after selling enough copies of your book to make enough profit out of it, can you indeed start celebrating your success as an author.

Sarah RobinsonSarah is a passionate writer and advocate for donating stories to the less fortunate. She currently works for BookRazor.com and enjoys reading her favorite novels in her pastime. She has a loving and very supportive family and enjoys visiting book signing events whenever she can.